chargement...
In January 2017, Moroccan globetrotter Yassine Ghallam decided to realize his dream of performing Hajj rituals. Instead of doing it the normal and classical way, the Moroccan decided to turn his trip to Mecca into an adventure, during which he walked to Hajj.
Almost four years after leaving Morocco, he arrived in Medina, without being able to achieve his goal because the Saudi authorities only authorized dozens of people to accomplish the fifth pillar of Islam, as part of their measures to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
«I wanted to discover this continent to which we belong but we don't know much. So I decided to travel on foot to find the history of our ancestors and the path they took to accomplish the ritual», he told Yabiladi. «I decided to travel with no money. It was a challenge with my mother who once told me that money is important in life and I didn't agree with her», he added. His adventure is thus a proof for his mother that money is not everything.
Once his luggage was packed, his journey began from Mauritania. «When I arrived in Dakar, I suffered from a knee injury and a doctor advised me to buy a bicycle to continue my trip, which I did», he recalled.
A challenging adventure
His adventure continued in Guinea-Bissau, then in Guinea-Conakry, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa, before arriving in the Comoros, Madagascar and Mauritius. He stopped for a while in the United Arab Emirates before returning to the Comoros and continuing his adventure.
Yassine then packed for Tanzania, where he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, before going to Kenya, then Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt where he attended the African Cup of Nations. From Egypt, he travelled to Jordan, the last country he visited before leaving for Saudi Arabia.
«It made me change my ideas about sub-Saharan Africa.Sub-Saharans are hospitable and love the Moroccan people and the King. They called me 'son of Mohammed VI', 'son of (Baddou) Zaki' or 'son of (Aziz) Bouderbala' because they also love Moroccan football».
But the adventure was not easy for this Moroccan globetrotter. He said that he «caught malaria in Benin» which left him bedridden for a week in a hospital, then he had a traffic accident in Nigeria. And during his trip, this former employee of the Casablanca Tramway company also worked as an Arabic and mathematics teacher, mechanic and hotel agent.
After four years, full of adventures, joys and hardship, Yassine Ghallam arrived in Saudi Arabia on December 11, 2019. «I arrived in Haqal (northwestern Saudi Arabia near the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, editor's note) and I continued on my way. It took me two months to reach Medina and visit the Prophet's tomb», he said.
Several lessons learned from this adventure
From the holy city, he went on foot to Mecca, taking «the path of the Messenger of Islam and his companions», which he traversed in 21 days.
However, the Moroccan globetrotter was unable to perform the Hajj rituals, due to the exceptional measures taken by Saudi Arabia to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But this did not prevent him from hanging on to his dream.
«I received a gift from some Saudi citizens to perform Hajj rituals next year, me and my parents.So I will stay here until next year».
And even after receiving offers to stay in a hotel in the meantime, the Moroccan preferred «a travel caravan», in which he currently lives in Abha (south-western Saudi Arabia).
To him, this adventure had enabled him to improve his English as well as the basics of several languages, such as Lingala, a Bantu language spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Republic of the Congo, as well as Swahili, spoken in several East African countries.
«Most importantly, I learned about the humanity of African countries, and I also clung to my dreams and understood that we have to set goals for our lives, not to live by chance», concludes Yassine who dreams of returning to Morocco to share his adventure.
